John ThurstonCommissioner

Bill HuffmanChief Deputy

Diane HolitikGeneral Counsel

Will MooreStaff Attorney

Divisions

Executive501-683-3031

Fiscal501-683-3075

Real Estate501-683-3053

Mineral Leasing501-683-3087

Legal501-683-3183

Public Relations501-683-3314

Welcome to the Commissioner of State Lands office and the spring 2017 edition of News from the 4th Section. Our 2017 auction season is underway, and I hope you’ll join us at one of the sales. If you own real estate that has been certified to our office, I encourage you to redeem it before it goes to auction.The deadline to assess personal property is May 31, so be sure to avoid late penalties by contacting your county assessor now. You can assess in person or by phone, and many counties also allow you to conduct business online.I’m very pleased to announce that we distributed more than $18 million in turnback to counties in 2016. These funds are used for roads, schools and other vital county services, so it benefits everyone to pay property taxes.Finally, I look forward to the next historical exhibit in our office, when we’ll be showcasing Arkansas railroad history.As always, if you have any questions, or if we can be of service, my door is always open.

The Commissioner of State Lands Office returned over $18 million to counties across Arkansas in 2016, Commissioner Thurston announced.

That turnback, totaling $18,244,997.50, is produced by property owners paying delinquent real estate taxes, and from proceeds in excess of taxes due when the COSL office sells property.

Since Commissioner Thurston took office in 2011, the COSL has returned almost $119 million to counties across Arkansas. In 2016, excess proceeds from the sale of land produced over $1.4 million, while redemptions of delinquent properties brought in almost $16.8 million.

The distribution to counties was as follows:Arkansas 132,308.50 Ashley 79,993.17Baxter 274,846.85Benton 1,920,652.54

Boone 74,917.22Bradley 67,440.68Calhoun 19,468.69Carroll 171,219.50Chicot 99,434.61Clark 94,304.26Clay 84,703.90Cleburne 227,049.56Cleveland 16,066.42Columbia 35,470.60Conway 157,710.29Craighead 589,034.08Crawford 346,036.05Crittenden 353,869.30Cross 96,570.74Dallas 42,532.84Desha 94,694.21Drew 121,006.14

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COSL returns over $18 million to counties

News from the

Spring 2017Volume 7, Issue 2

John ThurstonArkansas Commissioner of State Lands

4th Section

Faulkner 422,620.92Franklin 86,056.39Fulton 105,385.07Garland 864,525.46Grant 44,775.40Greene 137,770.31Hempstead 77,314.65Hot Spring 163,564.50Howard 63,886.58Independence 273,384.26Izard 45,142.47Jackson 88,323.67Jefferson 566,485.13Johnson 50,292.69Lafayette 30,394.82Lawrence 55,104.84Lee 73,213.63

Lincoln 20,351.94Little River 23,546.68Logan 75,156.93Lonoke 460,764.25Madison 63,887.61Marion 124,595.17Miller 352,974.72Mississippi 189,871.43Monroe 72,676.18Montgomery 41,165.34Nevada 120,600.84Newton 3,080.33Ouachita 186,116.89Perry 62,529.78Phillips 276,553.07Pike 24,188.61Poinsett 90,925.37Polk 91,492.56

Pope 470,039.24Prairie 29,408.26Pulaski 3,583,740.94Randolph 22,175.70Saline 410,589.96Scott 42,437.26Searcy 9,236.62Sebastian 800,773.15Sevier 41,555.30Sharp 156,181.60St. Francis 164,177.70Stone 29,807.00Union 328,528.49Van Buren 130,497.22Washington 909,026.27White 435,612.23Woodruff 13,545.14Yell 139,616.82

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New COSL exhibit explores Arkansas railroad historyBefore 18-wheeler trucks were invented or airplanes streaked

contrails across the sky, trains puffed through the American countryside, carrying everything from steel to silk, from coal to crowds. Freight trains: the brave new world of transportation.

That world of transportation will be the focus of the COSL’s summer/fall exhibit, Making Tracks Across Arkansas.

The first Arkansas railway company to incorporate was the Mississippi, Ouachita and Red River Railroad in August 1852, but construction on that line didn’t begin until after 1875.

The first tracks laid in Arkansas ran from modern-day West Memphis in Crittenden County to Madison in St. Francis County, in 1858. The line later grew and became the Memphis and Little Rock Railroad, but that first section was the only functioning railroad completed during the 1850s.

By 1871, 86 railroads had been chartered in Arkansas, but only 271 miles of track had been completed in the entire state. In 1899, the Arkansas Railroad Commission was created. It included the governor, attorney general, state auditor, state treasurer, secretary of state, commissioner of state lands

and commissioner of agriculture, and was responsible for overseeing the development and activities of the railroad industry in Arkansas. The commission issued its first charter to the St. Louis and North Arkansas Railroad in May 1899. Built to link Eureka Springs to Harrison, it operated from 1901-1906.

As the 20th century dawned, over 3,300 miles of tracks were in use in Arkansas, for both long and short lines. By the time World War II broke out, passenger service was declining, thanks to the proliferation of automobiles and airlines. But railroads were as important as ever for industry and shipping, using about 4,700 miles of track in Arkansas.

The state’s rail activity played a vital role in the war effort. Camp Jesse Turner, located near Van Buren, was a railroad training camp where soldiers learned everything about running trains. Railroad Operating Battalions were deployed worldwide to operate railways, moving supplies, troops and weapons, and often clearing and rebuilding tracks that Axis forces had destroyed to slow the Allied advance.

Railroads are still the most efficient means of transporting large amounts of goods. Tracks crisscross the world, and the trains that run on them use very little energy compared to the massive loads they bear. In Arkansas, too, they remain a steady presence.

The miles of track have reduced from the WWII peak, and the number of railroads has become more sustainable. The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department reports 26 railroads, including 15 short lines, operating 2,662 miles of track. In 2015, they carried over 20 million tons of Arkansas-originated goods, ranging from minerals and metals to food, glass, stone and lumber, among others.

The Making Tracks Across Arkansas exhibit will open in June and remain in the COSL’s Capitol office through the end of 2017. The 336, the last steam locomotive run in Lafayette County, is

one of the Arkansas Railroad Museum’s treasures.

The 2017 auction season began in Pope County on April 4 and will continue through Sept. 13 in Montgomery County. Please visit our website, http://www.cosl.org/catalog.aspx, for a list of parcels being auctioned in each county.

Date Time County Location CityMay 9 10 a.m. Conway Conway Co. Courthouse MorriltonMay 9 1 p.m. Faulkner Conway Expo Center ConwayMay 11 10 a.m. Clark District Court Bldg. ArkadelphiaMay 11 2 p.m. Hot Spring Chamber of Commerce MalvernMay 16 1 p.m. Lincoln Lincoln Co. Courthouse Star CityMay 17 10 a.m. Desha Desha Co. Courthouse Arkansas CityMay 17 1 p.m. Chicot Days Inn Lake VillageMay 18 10 a.m. Drew Hampton Inn MonticelloMay 23 10 a.m. Jefferson Pine Bluff Convention Ctr. Pine BluffMay 24 10 a.m. Dallas Dallas Co. Courthouse FordyceMay 24 1 p.m. Grant Community Center SheridanMay 31 1 p.m. Sevier Sevier Co. Courthouse DeQueenJune 1 10 a.m. Howard Howard Co. Courthouse NashvilleJune 1 1 p.m. Pike Pike Co. Courthouse MurfreesboroJune 6 1 p.m. Ouachita Ouachita Co. Courthouse CamdenJune 7 10 a.m. Union Union Co. Courthouse El DoradoJune 7 2 p.m. Columbia Magnolia City Hall MagnoliaJune 8 10 a.m. Nevada Nevada Co. Library PrescottJune 13 10 a.m. Carroll Best Western Inn of Ozarks Eureka SpringsJune 13 1 p.m. Madison Best Western Inn of Ozarks Eureka SpringsJune 14 10 a.m. Benton Embassy Suites NWA RogersJune 15 10 a.m. Washington Chancellor Hotel FayettevilleJuly 6 10 a.m. Garland Hot Springs Convention Ctr. Hot SpringsJuly 11 1 p.m. Cross Wynne Fire Department WynneJuly 12 10 a.m. St. Francis St. Francis Co. Courthouse Forrest CityJuly 12 2 p.m. Lee Lee Co. Courthouse MariannaJuly 13 10 a.m. Phillips Phillips Co. Courthouse HelenaJuly 18 1 p.m. Lafayette Lafayette Co. Courthouse LewisvilleJuly 19 10 a.m. Miller Holiday Inn Convention Ctr. TexarkanaJuly 19 1 p.m. Little River Little River Co. Courthouse AshdownJuly 20 10 a.m. Hempstead Hempstead Co. Courthouse HopeJuly 25 1 p.m. Yell Yell Co. Courthouse DardanelleJuly 26 10 a.m. Franklin Franklin Co. Courthouse OzarkJuly 26 1 p.m. Johnson Johnson Co. Courthouse ClarksvilleJuly 27 10 a.m. Saline Benton Municipal Building Benton

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COSL auction schedule, catalog available online

Commissioner Thurston recently enjoyed speaking to the Nashville Rotary Club and visiting several county officials across the state.

The COSL legal team spent much of the recent legislative session monitoring proposed legislation affecting the office. Four new laws will directly impact procedures at the county and/or state level.

Act 514 permits county collectors to publish delinquent mineral rights taxes online.

Arkansas Code § 26-36-213 (a)(1)(c) has been revised to explain that by December 1 of each year, county collectors will compile and provide to the Association of Arkansas Counties a list of delinquent mineral taxes, to be published on a dedicated website.

Each county’s official website will also contain a link to this list.

Notice will be published in local newspapers directing tax payers to the website as well.

Act 960 permits state agencies, courts and local governments to publish and submit documents electronically.

Entities may also request electronic receipt verification for the pertinent document(s).

Act 1053 streamlines the process for handling parcels that do not sell at auction and changes the time Excess Proceeds funds are held before escheating back to the county.

Approval from the Attorney General’s office is no longer required for post-auction sales; rather, a quarterly report of such sales will be submitted to the legislature for review.

Arkansas Code §26-37-202(b) has been amended to reflect these specific changes.

§26-37-205(b) has been amended to reflect that the Commissioner’s fees collected for post-auction sales will cover, at minimum, recording fees for pertinent documents.

Further, any funds generated by auction or post-auction sales after July 1, 2018 will be held for two (2) years before escheating by operation of law to the county in which they are located.

Act 1076 now requires any lessee of state-owned property to pay state ad valorem taxes on the property if the duration of the lease agreement exceeds 90 days.

The state will communicate lessee information and lease details to the county tax collector within 30 days of lease agreement execution.

Arkansas Code §26-26-905 has been revised to reflect these changes.

91st General Assembly results will affect COSL office

Remember to Assess!

The deadline to assess personal property taxes without a late penalty is May 31. Contact your county assessor’s office today to make sure you’re ready for the deadline.

Follow us on twitter @ARCOSLofficeLike our page at: facebook.com/ARCOSL

John ThurstonCommissioner of State LandsState Capitol Building500 Woodlane Street, Ste. 109Little Rock, AR 72201-1003501-324-9422; fax 501-682-1996email: land@cosl.orgwww.cosl.org

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